“It is a great honour to be here at this club. Third place is a massive achievement and playing the Champions League preliminary round will be both an honour and a pleasure,” he told Udinese Channel.

“Udinese strongly wanted me to be here and I’ll do everything I can to live up to the task. I have been here for two days and can already say I’ve seen it is the ideal place to work.”

As he hit the back of the net five times in Ligue 1 this season, many expect Heurtaux to be just as effective in either box.

“I am a real defender and I like playing in that role, though I also enjoy going forward and trying to score. I really like duels and my first objective is to be a defender, but if the team needs me then I won’t hold back in going forward.

“I often played against MehdiBenatia in France, so it is an honour to be alongside him now in Udine. He’s a great player and spoke highly of the club.

“My primary objective is to play as much as possible. We want to reach the Champions League and I’ll do everything possible to ensure I don’t disappoint the fans.”